Cigar box
Encyclopedia
Cigar boxes are popular juggling
props. Their rectangular shape resembles that of its namesake
; they are sometimes padded on the ends and/or the sides with a felt-like material.
Routines performed with cigar boxes include quick midair box-exchanging tricks, balancing tricks, and more. Most tricks are done with three boxes; few jugglers perform tricks with more than three boxes in their routines. Cigar boxes are a standard element of a gentleman juggler-style routine.
Rather than the "flowing" style of ball juggling, cigar boxes have what is often referred to as a "stop-and-start" style. In effect, this means that after the majority of tricks the boxes return to the home position (three or more boxes in a line, smallest ends together) and stop before the juggler starts the next trick.
Most cigar box tricks are achieved by bouncing up and down (normally from the knees, keeping one's arms in the same place relative to one's body). The trick is started at the apex of the 'bounce' and the boxes are pinned in the home position on the downstroke, preferably at the same altitude at which they started. This leads to the visual effect of the boxes being connected by an invisible wire (in tricks where the boxes not involved in the trick are separate; see take out) or it can appear as if the boxes are magnetic in some way (where two boxes remain 'stuck' together in the air; see end round below). This is just an illusion; the boxes are not in any way connected.
The world record for the most cigar boxes balanced is 211 boxes for 9 seconds.
be heavy, however, and with repeated drops on hard surfaces they will break apart. Yoga blocks ( the 3" foam kind ) are the right size and shape, practically indestructible for this use, and very quiet.
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
props. Their rectangular shape resembles that of its namesake
Cigar box
Cigar boxes are popular juggling props. Their rectangular shape resembles that of its namesake; they are sometimes padded on the ends and/or the sides with a felt-like material....
; they are sometimes padded on the ends and/or the sides with a felt-like material.
Routines performed with cigar boxes include quick midair box-exchanging tricks, balancing tricks, and more. Most tricks are done with three boxes; few jugglers perform tricks with more than three boxes in their routines. Cigar boxes are a standard element of a gentleman juggler-style routine.
Rather than the "flowing" style of ball juggling, cigar boxes have what is often referred to as a "stop-and-start" style. In effect, this means that after the majority of tricks the boxes return to the home position (three or more boxes in a line, smallest ends together) and stop before the juggler starts the next trick.
Most cigar box tricks are achieved by bouncing up and down (normally from the knees, keeping one's arms in the same place relative to one's body). The trick is started at the apex of the 'bounce' and the boxes are pinned in the home position on the downstroke, preferably at the same altitude at which they started. This leads to the visual effect of the boxes being connected by an invisible wire (in tricks where the boxes not involved in the trick are separate; see take out) or it can appear as if the boxes are magnetic in some way (where two boxes remain 'stuck' together in the air; see end round below). This is just an illusion; the boxes are not in any way connected.
Records
In 1977 Kris Kremo set a Guinness World Record of releasing one box and catching it after a quadruple pirouette. In 1994, Kristian Kristof broke the record by releasing all three boxes and catching them after a quadruple pirouette.The world record for the most cigar boxes balanced is 211 boxes for 9 seconds.
Cigar Box Props
Most props made for cigar box juggling are wooden plywood boxes, which make a satisfying noise when banged together. They tend tobe heavy, however, and with repeated drops on hard surfaces they will break apart. Yoga blocks ( the 3" foam kind ) are the right size and shape, practically indestructible for this use, and very quiet.